Treasury protests sustained

The Government Accountability Office has upheld protests against the Treasury Department's award of its Treasury Communications Enterprise contract to AT&T, GAO attorney Dan Gordon confirmed.

Further information, including the grounds for the protests and what the GAO decision will require Treasury officials to do, was not immediately available. Earlier, officials from some of the protesting companies said that the contract, worth up to $1 billion, was awarded without lengthy discussions and without bidders getting the customary opportunity to submit a best and final offer.

Five vendors filed protests: MCI, Qwest Communications, Northrop Grumman, Broadwing and Level3 Communications, he said. GAO sustained all of them.